Stomach Virus: Tips from the Trenches

I have mixed feelings about fall and winter. Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favorite holidays, and I love hot drinks, soft snowfalls and getting cozy in front of our wood stove…..but I despise the sickness that comes and goes all throughout the season. It disrupts school, causes many sleepless nights and grouchy days and can get costly, too (Kleenex, medicine, extra laundry, doctor visits, etc.).

Stomach viruses are on my naughty list. But thankfully, they resolve pretty quickly. Here are some of the ways we get to feeling better quickly, and some tricks I’ve learned after dealing with this for many many years (and sleepless nights):

Food and Drink: If someone throws up in the daylight hours, I don’t give them anything to eat or drink for at least an hour, besides tiny sips of water. If they make it at least an hour or two without a repeat, we’ll try some Gatorade or flat soda. And then we “watch and wait” again. Quite often, there will be an acute period of the virus where they will throw up multiple times within a short time frame, and then after that it moves on to the rest and recovery phase. There’s no point in stressing a sore stomach with food and drinks that won’t stay down anyway. Dehydration is generally not a threat since most viruses resolve quickly, sometimes as little as 24 hours. When they can keep drinks down and it’s been many hours and they are asking for food, then I move on to some tummy-friendly offerings like Jello, soft drinks (cold but allowed to go flat – bubbles probably aren’t best), applesauce, peaches, crackers and rice.

Making it Easier on Mama: Usually, I’m the one who deals with a sick child. If they wake up at night, I’ve found it’s easiest to stay with them for the acute phase so I don’t have to get out of bed multiple times. I generally don’t put them back in their own bed, either (who wants to wash sheets TWICE?). I clean up any mess and then make a bed on the couch for the sick child. I spread a plastic tablecloth or something else waterproof on the couch. On top I put an old sheet or towel. I also cover their pillow with an old towel. I set a bucket near the couch. I get them settled and then make myself a pallet on the floor nearby and get ready to wake often, if needed.

Medicine – What Works, What Doesn’t: If you want to try medicine, it’s best to way until stuff is staying down. For infants and young children, you might try Mommy’s Bliss Gripe Water. It’s completely safe and natural and made with ginger and fennel, traditional tummy soothers. OTC offerings include Emetrol syrup and dramamine.

When your child asks for food, and it’s been at least several hours since the last “episode,” probiotics in chewable or powder form are beneficial to the stomach and intestines.

These are often suggested, but haven’t been helpful in our experience:

• Antacids like Tums. They are indicated for heartburn, not nausea and vomiting.
• Anti-diarrhea medications: They can actually prolong the illness because they slow down the natural process of the body shedding a virus.
• Immune boosters like Airborne, Vitamin C, echinacea: A typical stomach virus runs a quick course, and recovery has very little to do with immunity and a lot to do with time, rest and common sense measures.

When It’s Just the Runs: Sometimes your child isn’t throwing up at all. Instead, it all comes out the other end.  I have found that this type of virus lasts much longer than the other kind, especially the younger your child is. Here’s our typical scenario: our 5 year old throws up once or twice and is all better the next day. Our baby gets diarrhea and we fight it for 2 weeks. That’s when you have to be more vigilant about dehydration. And I know certain foods are recommended and others are discouraged, but I’ve learned it doesn’t seem to make a big difference. Of course, I don’t serve up chili and hot dogs during a bout of diarrhea, but I don’t restrict them to the “Brat diet,” either. Nor do I eliminate dairy, although we do cut back. When you’re talking a week or longer of fighting an illness, too many restrictions can rob them of needed nutrients, calories and vitamins. Some good things to use when dealing with diarrhea – probiotics, a powerful diaper rash cream that stays put like Calmoseptine or Boudreaux’s, extra laundry detergent and extra layers of clothing (to protect chairs, sheets, etc. in case of leaks). And you all know I love cloth diapers, but we usually switch to disposables during the worst of it because of having to use so much “non cloth-safe” creams and because cleaning those messes multiple times a day without a sprayer is pretty darn yukky.

Is There Any Way to Prevent It? Yes, we’ve tried the grape juice remedy, and no, it didn’t work. Staying home, and staying away from sick (or potentially sick) people, is one of the best things you can do to stop the spread of stomach viruses. In fact, knowingly exposing others to sickness is unethical, and is especially egregious if you are in a job that involves contact with vulnerable populations (children, seniors, patients, etc.). Waiting 3 days after your symptoms have stopped to go back to work or school is the ideal.

Additional guidelines:

• If anyone in your family has stomach virus symptoms, keep everyone home unless absolutely necessary for a few days. The reason for this is simple. Whoever is in the house has been exposed to the virus, and could either be showing symptoms soon or capable of passing on germs to others.
• If anyone in your family has stomach virus symptoms, do not prepare food for people outside of your home. For the love of heaven, please skip the parish potluck! Your well-intentioned dish of mac and cheese could sicken many others in your community.
• The parent who is caring for the sick child/children should not prepare food for the family until the virus has passed. Single parents would be the exception, and need to be extra vigilant about handwashing before and during cooking.
• If someone in your family has just gotten over a stomach virus, do not invite anyone to your house for a few more days to allow for thorough cleaning and sanitizing.

One of most common objections to staying home is “But I can’t take off work/school!” Yes, you can. Think about this. What if, by sending your child to school the very next day after a virus, he or she sickens 5 or 10 other students? That’s a lot more lost school days compared to just the 1 or 2 you should have used up for your child. The same goes for work. You may think “I can’t take 2 days off from work,” but if your going back too soon sickens other employees, you will have caused many more days of work to be lost overall. At my husband’s job, it has a very real and devastating effect on families; missing just one day out of the month will forfeit that worker’s production bonus. Unfortunate, yes. But when he goes back to work the very next day and gets his co-workers sick, now you have thousands, not hundreds, in lost wages.

We need to have a healthy respect for contagious viruses, and allow enough time for healing. People get sick and things have to be cancelled or postponed. That’s just life. Anyone who tells you otherwise can get ready to have their turn on the toilet for 24 hours! 

If you have to, fib a little to the teacher or your boss. “My doctor says I’m still contagious.”

Although there is a vaccine for Rotavirus, that’s only one of thousands of strains. Besides using common sense quarantine measures, be vigilant about hygiene. Keep your child’s nails short and clean. Sanitize often-touched surfaces like doorknobs, remotes, phones and the spigot on the water cooler in your kitchen. Don’t allow food and drink-sharing, at least during cold/flu season.

I know this isn’t the most pleasant topic of conversation, but since it’s “that time of year,” I thought some of you might find this post helpful. Feel free to add your remedies and tips for dealing with stomach troubles in a comment below!